There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

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Canary
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There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:00 am

Hey, everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed the game. We tried a lot of different stuff this game, and I was surprised to find how much of it worked. Some of it didn't, but we've really learned a lot this game. I'm happy so many seem to have enjoyed what we put together. It was stressful at times, but I hope it was mostly worth it.

I would like to thank GM Tyrus for being a huge help in taking on all of the combat for me - it was something he wasn't as used to, and I think he ended up doing super super well. I would also like to thank GM Bakuriel for jumping in at the last minute and helping with NPCs and a whole lot of story stuff. I think bouncing ideas of him made this game much better than it would have been on its own.

And thank all of you for playing!

I'm an open book (mostly), so feel free to ask any questions you might have.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Nanzi » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:02 am

Always a pleasure to play, loved the game would be interested in knowing what didn't work for you and what did?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Jiyo Sora » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:03 am

Ready for the world-building fill in the blanks, given the way we emphatically altered the canon to an intense degree?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Kyosei of the Isawa » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:05 am

As a potential GM, I loved that last little fillip of having to hit the TN exactly, or near enough. I will probably use it in future games!

Fun, and I enjoyed it. Also, needed it. Helped me refresh, I think, mentally.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Miyako » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:12 am

Jiyo Sora wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:03 am
Ready for the world-building fill in the blanks, given the way we emphatically altered the canon to an intense degree?
I'm sure some most interesting things will be coming from this! :twisted:

Related to this, I'd be curious to know what some of the possible consequences were for the other results (Partial Victory, Partial Failure, Complete Failure), maybe what you had in mind for these right at game start and any fun twists to throw in once things progressed and we did some stuff and things!
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:15 am

Nanzi wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:02 am
Always a pleasure to play, loved the game would be interested in knowing what didn't work for you and what did?
The escalating TN events turned out to be a great success. Those were also inspired by the heist events you did in Shadows over Bankor, so you're partly to thank there. Players seemed to have a lot of fun strategizing for them, and they turned out to be a really good way to apply a lot of different specialties or a theme in a sensical, interesting way.

What didn't work is we almost made you guys too paranoid with some of the events we added along the way. We had to readjust some things (I don't remember as much what specifically now) in a hurry because of that. XD;
Jiyo Sora wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:03 am
Ready for the world-building fill in the blanks, given the way we emphatically altered the canon to an intense degree?
More than I was last game. We've actually been tossing around ideas in the background all game about how things will change due to the various shifts that have happened all game. It's been a lot of fun working with the other GMs to figure out what kind of Rokugan is going to grow out of this in the next 10 years.
Kyosei of the Isawa wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:05 am
As a potential GM, I loved that last little fillip of having to hit the TN exactly, or near enough. I will probably use it in future games!

Fun, and I enjoyed it. Also, needed it. Helped me refresh, I think, mentally.
Oh my gosh, you can thank Bakuriel for suggesting that specific mechanic. I chose the TN and put together the event, but the original idea of using that thing where you can choose your dice in L5R was all him. I'm probably going to use it again, as well.

I'm glad!
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:19 am

Miyako wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:12 am
I'm sure some most interesting things will be coming from this! :twisted:

Related to this, I'd be curious to know what some of the possible consequences were for the other results (Partial Victory, Partial Failure, Complete Failure), maybe what you had in mind for these right at game start and any fun twists to throw in once things progressed and we did some stuff and things!
Oh yes... This was a happy ending for this game, but the results are definitely not all sunshine and roses.

If Purity hadn't been over 100, you would have ended with Hantei as Champion of Jigoku.

Partial Victory would have resulted in Fu Leng coming home slightly tainted and unknowingly spreading it before he realized what was going on.

Partial Failure would have ended with Fu Leng very Tainted. Realizing his state and not wanting Jigoku to gain his soul, he would have had Kanna take his life with his crystal sword, and, freed from the Taint, would have clung to it not unlike Shiba.

Total Failure would have resulted in much death and Fu Leng remaining trapped to become Champion of Jigoku. See: canon L5R.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Seppun Dawei » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:21 am

What all else can we do to help you world-build moving forward?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Ongaku no Ryoko » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:22 am

To what extent did we surprise you with fixating on red herrings, maguffins, and asking for intricate details about obscure L5R lore bits such as ogres, nezumi, etc.

How much did we surprise you by fixating on the darn rock?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Ninube » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:28 am

I had a great time. Thanks for running the game.

Did you have any alternative events planned that we did not trigger (and please share if you did)?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Seppun Chisei » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:29 am

Thanks for the game! Another terrific job!

That last day was really exciting! How did all of that get put together?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Jin » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:31 am

I've sung the praises, and thanked you directly, a few times already but, hey, what's a few more?

Seriously it was an amazing game with a good mix of event types and mechanics. Loved the blended events as well as the elemental balancing idea.

Overall an amazing setting, amazing game, and amazing set of GMs - thank you all so much.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:33 am

Seppun Dawei wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:21 am
What all else can we do to help you world-build moving forward?
Specific and concrete plans are good.
Ongaku no Ryoko wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:22 am
To what extent did we surprise you with fixating on red herrings, maguffins, and asking for intricate details about obscure L5R lore bits such as ogres, nezumi, etc.

How much did we surprise you by fixating on the darn rock?
The fucking rock, oh my god. I literally put that there so I didn't have to describe a blank field. XD It was originally going to be just like a random grave marker until Jin interacted with it, then I was like, "Eh, might as well do something fun with it." Then it exploded. I just had my face in my hands in the background like, "Guys." It was honestly a lot of fun to see what unexpected things people did, but the rock thing was the funniest for that reason.

The ogres I had no idea what to do with, honestly, because their canon doesn't track with... you know, Ningen-do and the sort of champions it chooses. Making super powered immortal beings is not its thing. So honestly, most of it is just legend. They were more normal. Though I wouldn't say I was surprised by people focusing on esoteric lore bits.
Ninube wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:28 am
I had a great time. Thanks for running the game.

Did you have any alternative events planned that we did not trigger (and please share if you did)?
Nope, y'all pretty much hit everything I had planned and then some. As I mentioned, the portal closing was all player action.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Ongaku no Ryoko » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:39 am

Heh, yeah, Ogres are a bit funky. L5R lore doesn't always make sense.

Still, I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed having the chance to portray them as more than gigantic brutes - I would assume they were a bit of a natural evolution of the five races, but Ningen-do was like 'ehhhh, I think I'll go with humans from now on' after they conquered the five races and were jerks.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Nanzi » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:40 am

So how did Operation Raven Buddy come to be?
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:41 am

Seppun Chisei wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:29 am
Thanks for the game! Another terrific job!

That last day was really exciting! How did all of that get put together?
So, initially there were only two events on the last day. The wave combat and three part wedding. The descent was going to be purely cinematic. So then we decided it would be more fun to have them do stuff, and Baku came up with the roles each person would play. Then Ch'chit did his thing and you guys maintained high purity, so I came up with an event for that. And then we decided to do a little escape event for the final part of the descent kind of on the fly.

Then players complained about Shinjo in the wave combat, so I dragged the Maw through the portal when he wasn't originally going to do that and threw Shinjo at him, which led to the resolution of Koyama's personal plot and him showing up as a big fuck off dragon. So it sort of got bigger and bigger due to a variety of factors. It ended up working out really well like that, honestly, so I wouldn't do it differently. XD
Jin wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:31 am
I've sung the praises, and thanked you directly, a few times already but, hey, what's a few more?

Seriously it was an amazing game with a good mix of event types and mechanics. Loved the blended events as well as the elemental balancing idea.

Overall an amazing setting, amazing game, and amazing set of GMs - thank you all so much.
I won't say no. I do this to make something fun for everyone, but I won't say the praise doesn't get the dopamine flowing.

I was actually pretty concerned with making sure there was a variety this game! So I'm happy to hear that hit home in particular.

You're welcome. <3
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Nanzi » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:42 am

Who complained about Shinjo in the combat? Because I still kind of want to chastise her for ditching us!

All in good fun though, it was an exciting last day.
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:47 am

Ongaku no Ryoko wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:39 am
Heh, yeah, Ogres are a bit funky. L5R lore doesn't always make sense.

Still, I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed having the chance to portray them as more than gigantic brutes - I would assume they were a bit of a natural evolution of the five races, but Ningen-do was like 'ehhhh, I think I'll go with humans from now on' after they conquered the five races and were jerks.
I am sort of trying to adjust things to make more sense (to me, anyway XD).

I'm glad. I mean, they were always more than that, and they are out there. They were basically a foreign sapient species related to humans and giants (those are indeed a thing elsewhere). They're actually kinda Nordicish in origin. There is more to be found on them for sure. ;)
Nanzi wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:40 am
So how did Operation Raven Buddy come to be?
Operation Raven Buddy was actually part of the game from the start. Part of the reason we included pro-social and anti-social options in certain events is that we were tracking who would get the oni offer and who would get the offer to go into hell to rescue Fufu.

Baku came to me at one point, though, and went, to paraphrase, "We have to give this one to Nanzi. He has the perfect personality for this plotline." And I was like, "... Yeah, you're right, it's gotta be Nanzi."

I was actually initially worried that the group was too paranoid by that time for it to work, but man. You leaned into it and I could not have been happier. There was one point where we were like, "... He's gotta know by now. He has to."
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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Canary » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:51 am

Nanzi wrote:
Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:42 am
Who complained about Shinjo in the combat? Because I still kind of want to chastise her for ditching us!

All in good fun though, it was an exciting last day.
I would prefer not to name names, but that is a totally reasonable reaction. It all worked out to the good.
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"Is the dark side stronger?"
"No, no, no. Quicker. Easier. More seductive."

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Re: There and Back Again: A Birb's Tale (GM Canary Q&A)

Post by Nanzi » Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:55 am

I thought it was the Nothing until the shedding of blood.
Family Daimyo | Sexy DILF | Dark Skin | Doji's Husband | Prodigy | Divine Tongue | Oni Daddy
Status: 7.0 | Glory: 9.0 | Infamy: 0 | Reputation: Untrustworthy | Description | Theme
Possessions: Doji's Favor (Sword), Sword, Luxurious Clothes, Light Armor, Doji's Fan, Jade Finger Necklace
Supporting Staff: Doji Jigutsuji, Nanzi Jongwun, Raven on shoulder

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